Casual tables for use on porches and patios commonly have tops with cores of fibrous material which provide relatively weak support for attachment of screws, T-nuts, and the like. Such cores are formed from fibrous material, such as wood fibers, which are molded into sheet form, usually with organic polymer binders. Such materials are generically referred to herein as "pressboard".
Pressboard is a lightweight, relatively inexpensive material which can be made into durable table tops by laminating a hard plastic sheet to the top and side edges.
A common commercial practice for attaching legs to pressboard table tops employs T-nuts, which are seated on the underside of the table, and arranged in groups for receiving bolts connecting the legs. This type of construction permits the detachment of the legs for shipping or storage, but it does not provide a sufficiently sturdy leg attachment for long-term use of the tables. Because of the structural weakness of the pressboard material, the T-nuts loosen rather easily, and the table legs can become wobbly. Leverage forces exerted by the table legs tend to aggravate this problem. With continued use of the tables the T-nuts can become separated from the table tops. It is difficult for the users to securely reattach the table legs. In home use, the owner does not ordinarily have available the required tools for re-insertion of T-nuts.
Table legs have sometimes been adhesively bonded to pressboard table tops. This has the disadvantage that the legs cannot be removed, making the tables more bulky for shipment and less convenient for storage. Compact storage is often desired for porch or patio furniture during the winter season. Heretofore, no satisfactory answer to these problems has been provided.